Shigeyo Nakachi

Japanese supercentenarians are citizens, residents or emigrants from Japan who have attained or surpassed the age of 110 years. , the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) had validated the longevity claims of 263 Japanese supercentenarians, most of whom are women. As of , the oldest-known living Japanese person is Miyoko Hiroyasu (born in Oita on 23 January 1911), who is aged . The oldest verified Japanese and Asian person ever is Kane Tanaka (1903–2022), who lived to the age of 119 years and 107 days, making her the second-oldest validated person ever as well. Japan was also home to the world's oldest man ever, Jiroemon Kimura (1897–2013), who lived to the age of 116 years and 54 days.

100 oldest-known Japanese

Biographies

Tane Ikai

had been, at the time of her death, Japan's oldest person following the death of 114-year-old Waka Shirahama in 1992, while also being the first person in Japan to reach the ages of 115 and 116 and being the last Japanese person born in the 1870s.

Tane Ikai was born in Aichi, Empire of Japan on 18 January 1879. She married at 20 and had three sons and a daughter. She separated from her husband in 1917 at the age of 38.

On a typical day, Ikai would eat three fundamental meals of rice porridge. In 1968, at the age of 89, she moved into a nursing home where she was to live for the next 20 years. She played an active role in activities at home and enjoyed making pottery and sewing until suffering her first stroke in 1978 at the age of 99. In 1988, at the age of 109, Ikai suffered another stroke and was moved to a hospital, where she remained bedridden for the rest of her life. She died of kidney failure on 12 July 1995.

Denzō Ishizaki

was an elementary school teacher and town assembly member in his hometown Kansago, Ibaraki Prefecture. At the time of his death, Ishizaki had been the world's oldest-living man for almost 18 weeks, as well as the ninth-oldest-living person in the world. He died of multiple organ failure on 29 April 1999 at age 112 (or 114?) years and 209 days, and was the oldest Japanese man ever (until October 2001, when his record was broken by Yukichi Chuganji). However, Ishizaki claimed to be two years older, asserting that his birth register had been "delayed by two years". In July 2023, LongeviQuest determined that Ishizaki was born 18 days earlier than previously believed, based on his family records.

Yukichi Chuganji

Yukichi Chuganji (中願寺 雄吉; ''Chūganji Yūkichi'', 23 March 1889 – 28 September 2003) was a Japanese silkworm breeder, instructor in the agricultural specialty, bank employee and community welfare officer who lived for 114 years and 189 days. At the time of his death, he was the oldest Japanese man ever and the world's oldest-living person.

He did not like to eat vegetables but liked beef, pork and chicken. He also ate toffee, drank milk, the occasional apple juice and only drank alcohol in moderation, which he believed were the secrets to a long life. During the last years of his life, he had failing eye sight and was bedridden. He died of natural causes on the evening of 28 September 2003, after being served a glass of apple juice by his 74-year-old daughter, who was his only living child. Besides 5 children, Chuganji also had 7 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Misao Okawa

became the world's oldest-living person following the death of 116-year-old Jiroemon Kimura in 2013 until her own death in 2015.

Misao Okawa was born to a kimono maker family on 5 March 1898 in Tenma-Ku (now Kita-ku), Osaka Prefecture, Empire of Japan. Prior to her marriage, she helped with her family's clothing business. In 1919, she married her husband Yukio, who ran his own business in Kobe. They had three children, two daughters and a son. As of February 2013, only one of her daughters, Shizuyo, and her son Hiroshi, were still alive. Her other daughter had died before her. Okawa's husband was a modern man. He enjoyed a cup of coffee and eating bread on Sundays, which was uncommon back in the 1920s. Sadly, after only twelve years of marriage, Yukio Okawa died on 20 June 1931 at the age of 36 from heart disease. Following the death of her husband, Okawa moved back to Osaka with her three children. She never remarried. After establishing a new Koseki in 1951, Okawa's younger daughter got married, followed up by her oldest daughter in 1953 and her son in 1956. From there, Okawa lived with her son and daughter-in-law. In 2000, she broke her leg at the age of 102. She said that she was doing leg squats. She was able to walk until she was age 110, after which she needed a wheelchair to prevent her from falling over.

Okawa died in Higashisumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, Japan, on 1 April 2015 from heart failure, at the age of 117 years, 27 days.

Nabi Tajima

succeeded Violet Brown as the world's oldest person after Brown's death on 15 September 2017. She died seven months later and was the last person verified as having been born in the 19th century.

Tajima was born and died on the small island of Kikaijima in the Amami Islands chain, about halfway between Okinawa and the main Japanese islands. Her husband, Tominishi Tajima (田島 富二子), died aged 93 in 1991. She had nine children, seven sons and two daughters, and in September 2017 she was reported to have had around 160 descendants, including great-great-great-grandchildren.117歳 世界一へ県民栄誉検討 田島ナビさんを知事訪問 鹿児島県喜界町
She stated that her longevity was due to sleeping soundly and eating delicious food. Guinness World Records was planning to certify Tajima as the world's oldest person, but she died at a nursing home in Kikai shortly before they could do so.

She died at age 117 years and 260 days on 21 April 2018, and was the oldest Japanese person ever until Kane Tanaka surpassed her age on 19 September 2020.

Yasutaro Koide

worked as a tailor for a men's clothes shop in Tsuruga, Fukui. He moved to Nagoya when he was 107 years old, to live with his daughter. When he turned 110, Koide could still read newspapers without eyeglasses and eat without dentures.

On 31 March 2014, Koide became the oldest-living person in Aichi Prefecture following the death of Nagoya resident Tsuya Miura, who died at the age of 111. The following year, he became the oldest-living man in the world following the death of Sakari Momoi on 5 July 2015, a feat which was recognized by Guinness World Records on 21 August 2015. When asked about the secret to his long life, Koide responded by stating that "the best thing is to not overdo" and recommending abstinence from smoking or drinking.

Koide died on 19 January 2016 due to heart failure and pneumonia in a hospital in Nagoya at the age of 112 years, 312 days.

Masazō Nonaka

had been, at the time of his death, Japan's oldest-living man since October 2016, and the world's oldest-living man for one year, since January 2018. Nonaka was also the oldest person ever born in Hokkaidō.

He had two brothers and three sisters; Nonaka married Hatsuno Nonaka in 1931. They had five children, of whom three were living as of his death.Japan's Masazo Nonaka, declared world's oldest living man in 2018, dies aged 113 Nonaka enjoyed relaxing in hot springs, reading newspapers, eating cake and watching sumo on television, his family said
SCMP, 20 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019. He ran the family ''onsen'', which opened in 1905. He spent most of his later years in a wheelchair, crediting his longevity to eating sweets and relaxing in the hot springs. Nonaka died on 20 January 2019, aged 113 years and 179 days.

Fusa Tatsumi

was a Japanese supercentenarian. She was Japan's oldest-living person after the death of Kane Tanaka on 19 April 2022.

Fusa Tatsumi was born in Yao, Osaka Prefecture, Empire of Japan on 25 April 1907. Tatsumi moved into the Hakuto nursing home in Kashiwara, Osaka Prefecture, Japan in 2013. When she came to the nursing home she was in relatively good health, and was able to do gymnastics from her wheelchair. Aged 110, she was still able to do her own makeup. She was bedridden and rarely spoke in her later years. After the death of Lucile Randon of France on 17 January 2023, Tatsumi became the second-oldest-living person in the world behind Maria Branyas, a Californian-born woman of Catalan descent. The pair were the last two living people verified to have been born in 1907. Tatsumi died of respiratory failure on 12 December 2023, aged 116 years and 231 days.

Tomiko Itooka

was a Japanese supercentenarian. She was Japan's oldest-living person since the death of Fusa Tatsumi on 12 December 2023. Tomiko Itooka was born in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Empire of Japan on 23 May 1908. She moved into a nursing home in Ashiya, Hyōgo in 2019. She was at the time still able to move independently, but later mainly used a wheelchair. On 19 August 2024, following Maria Branyas' death, she became the world's oldest-living person. Itooka died from natural causes on 29 December 2024, aged 116 years, 220 days.

Okagi Hayashi

was a Japanese supercentenarian, who was the oldest living person in Japan and the third-oldest-living person at the time of her death.

Okagi Hayashi was born in the village of Tsumagi (now Tsumagicho, Toki), Gifu Prefecture, Empire of Japan, on 2 September 1909. Her father was a grain wholesaler. After graduating from elementary school, she entered Nakatsu Girls' High School. At the same time she started school, she left her parents' house and lived in a high school dormitory. In her early 20s, Hayashi married an elementary school teacher. Her husband was adopted into the Hayashi family, so she never changed her maiden name. They lived in Hokkaido Prefecture until her first son was born, and then returned to Toki where she took over her family's grain wholesale business. The couple had nine children in total. She had been very cautious of her health since mid-life, drinking her homemade green juice every morning and exercising along with her husband. Until she was in her eighties, she enjoyed going on hot spring trips and gardening with her friends from school days. Hayashi practiced calligraphy until she was in her nineties. She lived with her family in her home until she was 105. At the time of her 110th birthday, she had eight living children, 22 grandchildren, 39 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren. At the age of 112, she was still able to read newspapers and enjoyed playing puzzle games. Hayashi lived in Tsumagicho, Toki City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan before her death of heart failure on 26 April 2025, aged 115 years, 236 days.

Mine Kondō

was a Japanese supercentenarian. For 24 days, she was the oldest known living person in Japan and the third oldest known living person.

Kondō was born on September 1, 1910 in the village of Ikuma, which is now part of Toyota, Aichi. She married her husband at the age of 20 and had 9 children, but only 6 survived to adulthood. She worked as a farmer for much of her life while also raising silkworms and creating handmade paper. On March 2, 2023, Kondō became the oldest living person in Aichi Prefecture following the death of Shizu Narita. On April 26, 2025, Kondō became the oldest living person in Japan following the death of Okagi Hayashi. She died on May 20, 2025, at the age of .

See also

*Shigechiyo Izumi – wrongly assumed to have been the world's oldest man ever

References

{{Portalbar, Biography, Japan, Lists

Supercentenarians
Japanese